


Simple Truths

by sheron



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Avengers Vol. 3 (1998), Books, Cap_Ironman Holiday Gift Exchange 2018, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hot Cocoa, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Romance, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheron/pseuds/sheron
Summary: When Steve tells him about the romance novel he borrowed from Jan, Tony realizes his own feelings for Steve would fit perfectly in a book like that. Of course, Steve must never know.





	Simple Truths

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littleblackbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleblackbow/gifts).



> This is written for littleblackbow in the 2018 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange. The setting is at some point in the Avengers Vol. 3 timeline, after Captain America Vol. 3 #50. Thanks to msermesth for the beta, and to the mods for running this event. I hope you enjoy the story!

 

He found Steve reading in the Mansion's library. Steve was wearing his ridiculous orange slippers and a dark blue house robe, stripped pants and a worn-looking grey t-shirt with a Captain America's iconic red-white-and-blue shield logo printed on the chest, peeking out underneath the folds of his fuzzy robe. In other words, Steve had made himself comfortable, bundled up against the December cold, and the image of him looking up from his reading was the first thing that made Tony smile all day.

As soon as Steve saw Tony framed in the doorway, he started to set the book aside. "No, don't let me disturb you." Tony waved him off wearily, tugging his tie further askew and popping open his suit's jacket, as he slipped inside the room. 

In the cozy atmosphere of wooden bookshelves, filled to the brim with thick tomes, the echo of the heels of his leather shoes against the wooden floors seemed unnaturally loud as he made it over to the sofa. Its white leather creaked when he slumped down to sit next to Steve. After the raucous meeting with the Board of Stark Enterprises earlier, the quiet stillness of the library appealed to his senses. Wanting to preserve it, he kicked his shoes off and let his feet, dressed in black cotton socks, rest against the wooden floor. He wiggled his freed toes. "Finish your book. I'll just sit here for a bit."

After a moment's consideration, Steve nodded and returned to his paperback. 

The quiet rustle of pages turning was the only sound in the library.

Tony undid the top button of his office shirt and tilted his head back, eyes slipping shut. Their lives have been so hectic lately; he was glad Steve got the downtime to read. When was the last time Steve had picked up a book just for fun? When had Tony? He didn't have the energy to think on it or do much of anything except sit there, thoughts swirling randomly. He was starving; in fact before his battery metaphorically ran out — and thank god that wasn't a literal comment anymore — he'd come looking for Steve, knowing the library was one of his favourite hangouts, hoping to see if they'd have a late dinner together. Now he just wanted to sit still for a while, with Steve's steady presence having a calming effect on him. It was a few days before Christmas. Snow was falling softly outside the frosted windows, and even protected inside the thick stone walls of the Mansion, Tony shivered from the cold and wished nonsensically that he could bury his hands in the pockets of Steve's fuzzy robe.

At one point the sofa dipped and Tony thought with a pang that Steve would leave him alone to rest, surrounded only by books — and though he wanted the silence, he didn't want to be alone — but Steve only went as far as the door. Tony, eyes still shut, heard Jarvis. The two men conversed in the doorway, in hushed tones and indistinguishable words, and then Steve padded back to the sofa. 

A wonderful smell, cocoa and peppermint, wafted towards Tony's nose. He opened his eyes to see Steve smiling and thrusting a steaming mug with an Avenger logo towards him. His favourite. Tony took the mug between his hands eagerly, wrapping both palms around the hot ceramic to warm his hands. "And you?" he asked, before taking a sip, and closing his eyes for an entirely different reason of sensory bliss. After all, Steve hadn't brought a cup for himself.

"I'm fine, Tony," came heartfelt, as Steve resettled next to him on the sofa, picking up his book and burying his nose in it. He didn't seem to want to force Tony to talk about his day, choosing instead to be a steady comfort at his side, and for a moment the sheer gratitude Tony felt made him blink against the burning in his eyes.

And so they stayed like that in silence for a little while, Tony sipping his drink, Steve reading his book.

The time he spent in Steve's company was always the best.

Eventually, Tony finished the cocoa and, with its warmth seeping through his veins, had some energy to function again. He set the empty mug on the side coffee table, and glanced over at the man beside him. Steve's book was wrapped in a newsprint, concealing the cover from view.

Tony sunk low on the couch, happy to hangout, drumming his fingers against his thighs. For a moment, Steve continued to read intently, a faint smile on his lips while he turned the pages in silence. Tony let out a loud sigh. "Well, that sure isn't the _History of the 20th Century_ you're reading there."

An interesting flush that sprang up on Steve's cheeks cranked Tony's curiosity into overdrive. He shifted to peer over Steve's bulky arms, and Steve shifted in turn to tilt the book's content out of view.

"C'mon, what is it?" Steve wasn't supposed to hide things from him; it wasn't fair.

Steve shot him a side-glance, before sighing and letting on, "It's actually a romance novel. Jan let me borrow it." His mouth twisted wryly. "She said I could learn a thing or two."

Well. Tony blinked at him without a comment for a second. The way he said it, it didn't sound like one of those high-brow literature pieces, but something rather more entertaining. Steve was reading romance novels on the sly? And Tony hadn't known about this 'till now? Was this the first time or had Steve been hiding his hobby for a while? Hiding the book in a newspaper sleeve seemed to point to a certain desire to keep his business quiet. Hiding something like this was what Tony would have done, rather than let on about any kind of romantic nonsense cluttering his head.

The procession of commentary Tony would have received from Howard for indulging in something frivolous and effeminate like reading a romance novel paraded through his head. He always believed Howard expected him to be reading _The Art of War_ or _The Prince_ by Machiavelli; something along those lines. When he pictured it, Howard was always looming over him, even though Tony wasn't a kid anymore. He shoved the thought away with a frown.

Steve must have read imagined judgment in his face, because he insisted, "It's fun and it doesn't take itself too seriously."

Seeing him tense up, Tony nodded too quickly. He wanted the earlier ease back, wanted Steve to be comfortable. Tony arranged his face into a more appropriate expression. "Um. What's it about?"

"Well..." Steve hesitated, cutting another glance to Tony's face that was surely struck with curiosity, and his flush grew. "It's actually a shifter romance. About a, uh, Bear shifter and a bookshop keeper falling in love."

"Wow."

Steve snorted. "Don't laugh, but the plot is actually interesting. Plus, I like the characters. The hero is not an asshole, like in a lot of these books, and he comes to the rescue of the heroine just when she is lost and needs him the most."

"Ah," Tony said, vividly recalling that Steve's painful break up with Sharon had only been four months ago. And the way Steve had taken it badly, especially as it came on the heels of Connie leaving him earlier, and after everything with the Onslaught, he was bound to be a bit nostalgic for the easy days when he swept women off their feet. Well, Steve still did that just by being Steve, but he hadn't taken up any of the opportunities in plain sight in the months since his last break up. Tony worried about him. These days it was almost like Steve lived at the Mansion, he hung around so much, instead of going back to his lonely apartment. Not wanting him to be alone when the other Avengers disappeared for their own ends, Tony tried his best to make time for him, to cheer him up. It didn't hurt that spending time with Steve was the highlight of Tony's day. He wondered what Steve would think if he knew how badly Tony needed to see him some days, just to bask in his presence for a while. He tried to play his next comment off as a joke. "So you're reading it because it reminds you of your own life then? Seen anyone shift into a bear lately?"

Steve huffed. "It does happen." Tony thought about the kinds of lives they led, and yeah, okay, maybe that part wasn't so strange.

"And of course they are meant to be together." It should have sounded cynical, but Tony could tell from the surprised look Steve shot him that a thread of wistful hope had woven itself into his words.

"Actually, because he is a shifter he has a fated mate. So he knows she's the one the moment he lays eyes on her." Steve rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Now that part I'm not sure I'm sold on."

Tony gave a laugh. It came out high and nervous. He didn't know what to do with his hands. "Love at first sight, huh?" 

He couldn't say why he kept walking down this trail of conversation: a self-destructive impulse, no doubt. From one moment to the next, Steve was going to look at him, truly look, and read everything in his face. How the best day of his life had been when they'd found Steve in the ice. How being with Steve changed him and made him better. How he'd only fallen deeper and deeper in love with Steve every single day since, even when they fought. In fact, when they did disagree, Tony thought maybe his love for Steve burned at its fiercest. Nobody could ever make Tony feel so much affection for them even when they were _so wrong_. Nobody but Steve.

"I don't know if I believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in that instant"—Steve gave him a look of surprising intensity—"when you look at someone and know they're the one."

The moment started to stretch into infinity before Tony coughed and looked away. One didn't need to be an expert strategist to see the need to pull back to safer ground. But he also wanted to keep Steve relaxed, and that couldn't happen if Tony acted like he was afraid of the topic. They should be able to talk about it, as buddies did, regardless of Tony's actual feelings.

"What could Jan possibly think you need to learn from a romance book?" His thoughts swam with the possibility of Steve reading the erotic chapters for study, and he could feel his back go damp with sweat.

"It can't have escaped your notice, I'm a disaster at romantic relationships."

Tony was appalled. "You are not!" After the instinctive protest, he carefully modulated his tone to something more casual when Steve rolled his eyes. "Sure, the last couple of times didn't work out, but that just means they weren't right for you—" 

"The point," Steve interrupted Tony's spirited defense, his blue eyes arresting as usual, "is that when they _are_ right for me, what then?"

"Steve..." Tony leaned closer and put a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder. "You just have to be yourself."

Steve kept gazing at him with those sincere eyes and a hard-set jaw. "What if that's not good enough?"

Tony had had a really long day. The words seemed to bypass his brain and just popped out of his mouth. "It's good enough for me."

 _Oh God._ He froze under the startled look from Steve.

"I mean..." Tony felt all blood drain from his face. He didn't know how to explain what he said without making it worse. He'd been so sure he could keep his inner train of thought separate from what came out of his mouth. It was hard to interpret his words as anything other than a come-on. "I mean, um, I have— I certainly experienced— As a friend—"

_Get out._

"Tony?" Steve said and flipped the book shut without saving his place, slowly setting it to the side, his eyes never leaving Tony's. He was reading Tony now like he'd been reading the book, focused and curious, and he was seeing more than Tony ever wanted him to realize.

_Get out, get out._

"Well," Tony jumped to his feet, stepping a few paces away. He suddenly needed all the distance he could get from Steve, because he couldn't do this sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the man. He was going to have to pick up his shoes later; there was no way he could return to the sofa (and Steve) now. "I'll leave you to your charming reading choices then—" he turned to bid Steve farewell before escaping the library, and found that Steve had stood up and was barely a foot away.

Steve's hand caught hold of Tony's elbow to keep him in place. Tony's stomach was doing flips, and blood was rushing in his ears, so it was with some difficulty he focused on the actual words Steve was saying, "—apologize if I'm misreading this. But the reason I like the book is because, well, the way the hero acts — it, uh, reminded me of you. A lot."

"Me?" Tony's voice cracked. He tried to review their previous conversation in his head. The hero, the non-asshole, the guy who swooped in and saved the day? That was clearly Steve.

"You," Steve said simply. He looked down and away for a moment, biting his lower lip. "The way you were there, when I needed someone so badly. The way you'd shown me the future, and opened up your home to me." He looked back at Tony, direct. "You've always been my hero."

Tony stared into his clear azure eyes, speechless. 

"It was just like in the romance novels," Steve said quietly, apparently aware that he had Tony's undivided attention and exploiting the fact ruthlessly. His grip on Tony's elbow tightened. "So tell me if I'm reading this wrong."

He slowly pulled Tony closer, inevitable like the tide. Steve sucked in a steadying breath, but it didn't help his hands, shaking where he put one around Tony's waist. " _Tony_ ," he murmured low, and then they were kissing.

The kiss exploded like a burst of a star, wiping away past and future, and leaving only the now. His eyes slipped shut, his body clamoring for more sensation from the press of Steve's hot lips against his. Tony made a needy sound, soft and vulnerable, his arms coming to grip Steve's biceps. Steve responded by clamping his arms around Tony and pulling him in, chest-to-chest, his kiss without much finesse, but so earnest and true that inside Tony's chest the dazed, elated pleasure mixed with that same adoration he so often felt around Steve, that overwhelming love and need to show Steve everything, share everything, give him _everything_.

Steve's lips worked like a charm, warding off thoughts of being deserving of him, but eventually they had to separate. Slowly, Tony reopened his eyes to find Steve studying him with an intent, hungry stare, like one might study a map of a coveted territory to be conquered. Tony, with his knees weak after that breath-stealing kiss, felt unable to mount up a single objection to the conquest, even as multiple reasons this was dangerous flashed through his head one by one, easily dismissed for now under the wave of emotion. Surely reason would return eventually, but at the moment all he could do was look at Steve and memorize the feeling of being held in his careful embrace, with such undeniable strength.

Steve had every opportunity to leave. He didn't.

"So the kissing thing," Tony murmured breathlessly. "You picked that up from a book?"

"No, that's all me." There was a look of a shocked kind of happiness breaking out on Steve's face, mixed with trepidation, as if it was suddenly occurring to him what he'd done, and how impossible it seemed that they could do this together. He'd been so brave to get this far; Tony couldn't let him bear the weight of it all alone.

"Mmm, I _like_ you," Tony whispered, intending to flirt and by far too sincere.

Steve's eyes shone brightly with humour and delight at this. "I like you too, Tony." He licked his own lips. "Hmm," a smile quirked the corner of his mouth. "You taste of cocoa."

 _You taste like sunshine, and victory and coming home._ Tony wasn't brave enough for that confession yet. The words sheltered in the deep corners of his heart, where the cold light of reality couldn't touch them, couldn't shatter the fragile romantic nonsense that survived within him despite everything. But what Tony couldn't say, he could show Steve in his own way. He put a hand to Steve's cheek, forgetting to be embarrassed about the slight tremble in his fingers.

"That kissing thing. Let's do it again."

They did.

Snow kept falling outside, burying the city in cold, but held in Steve's embrace, Tony was finally warm.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://sheronwrites.tumblr.com/post/181786349194/simple-truths-word-count-2863-fandom-marvel) post.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Simple Truths (The Self-Referential Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215603) by [Sadisticsparkle (sadisticsparkle)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadisticsparkle/pseuds/Sadisticsparkle)




End file.
